"Variety" with special supplements about Polish cinema
“Spotlight Poland” is the title of a special supplement in the leading industry magazine “Daily Variety” which was published on 19 May.
The authors of the supplement underline that the establishment of the Polish Film Institute (PISF) in 2005 has revolutionised the Polish film market. Polish cinematography has never had comparable sums of money injected into the industry.
In 2008, it will be over $45 million, of which $40 million is for film production and development and the rest for distribution support, theatre modernization, Polish film promotion, training and cultural activities. It was also underlined that there is much more money now for production and international co-productions.
Agnieszka Odorowicz, General Director of PISF, underlined in an the significant influence of the Institute on professionalization and film branch development, which is appreciated by the film environment.
Authors of the supplement report that cinema ticket incomes are still small for Poland, a country of 38 million, but they note there has been a significant increase in the number of viewers watching Polish films. For example, Katyń by Andrzej Wajda has attracted over 2.5 million viewers in Poland since its premiere in September 2007.
The authors underline the devotion of PISF to international projects and give examples of noted international directors who have decided to cooperate with Poland (Nightwatching by Peter Greenway and It’s a Free World by Ken Loach).
In the “Daily Variety” supplement, there is also a list of creators who received donations from PISF. Dariusz Jabłoński, Andrzej Jakimowski, Michał Kwieciński, Piotr Mularuk, and actor Robert Więckiewicz were mentioned.
The participation of Polish films in international film markets was also underlined. Some of the films mentioned were Katyń by Andrzej Wajda, All Will Be Well (Wszystko będzie dobrze) by Tomasz Wiszniewski, Tricks (Sztuczki) by Andrzej Jakimowski, and Tomorrow We’re Going to the Movies (Jutro idziemy do kina) by Michał Kwieciński.
Translated by Monika Miziniak | Edited by Patricia Koza